I don't see what Nintendo goes for when releasing simply updated versions of handhelds. Besides, y'know, if they only want to lose the trust of many gamers.

They haven't lost my trust, but I feel kinda stabbed in the back that they would release an updated version after all. I don't want to sound butthurt-- But Ambassador Program games don't make up for this at all like they did with the original 3DS price drop-- but I may be sounding like it here.

Oh well. I know that I am not going to be getting this, I, like Gotenks, am perfectly happy with my current 3Dessy wessey.

Also, I don't keep my old handhelds. GameStop and many other places come up with sick deals for trading in your old one. I just wish they would have let me do the System Transfer first before I traded in my old DSi! >__<

(and because the Wii U will have the option to transfer games, damn,I just dunno)

It's not like they've added significant new features or that they are phasing out the regular 3DS though. Like the DSi XL, this is just a secondary model targeted more at older, more casual demographics than anyone else. Nintendo's just giving consumers a choice between bigger screens and easier portability, which is in no way a bad thing. It's not like they are forcing us to upgrade by making it a new generation or anything, the games will play just fine on either.

I'm not surprised that they didn't include a second Circle Pad (unlike some, it would seem). The Circle Pad Pro was always, and probably always will be, a niche, mainly 3rd party peripheral. It was Capcom who convinced Nintendo to make it in the first place (for Monster Hunter 3G). It was never Nintendo's plan to use a second Circle Pad widely (or barely at all), and it still isn't.

As for the 3DS XL itself, when I first saw it I thought it was foolish of Nintendo to release it this soon, then I realised that it would be in addition to the normal 3DS (not replacing it), and it's out only a month after its announcement, meaning it would depress sales of the current 3DS too much. Then I was excited and considered getting one, but I realised that it wouldn't fit in my pocket (so no StreetPass for me), and the screen resolution is still the same, so the larger screen will not be nearly as crisp and sharp as the normal 3DS screen is (this was the main reason I never bought a DSi XL; I found in near-unplayable because of it).And now I've realised that it really won't affect me in any way. I won't be buying one, they won't be getting rid of or ceasing support for the normal 3DS, and it won't change any of the games (this is, after all, just a larger model; it has no actual new features). So there's really no need for me to worry, or even much care, about this announcement.

-------------------"I swear on the name of Dumuzid, the Shepherd, consort of Ishtar! Your ass is mine, punk!" - Thomas Mutton

What's that? A lot of gamers and developers want us to add a second circle pad? No, we're notp redesigning the 3DS anyt-oh wait, we're coming out with a 3DS XL? The perfect time to fix the one serious design flaw with the 3DS? NAH BRAH LET'S KEEP IT EXACTLY THE SAME!

-------------------

quote

Yes, life was better once. But getting all worked up over the paradise he'd lost was blinding him to the joys of mediocrity. Today's joy was snot-colored soup and a lecture, but at least he wouldn't starve. Home is where you hang your hat.

Because obviously they have infinite room in the casing to add new control guts and not effect things like heat distribution or battery size/life in the slightest to add a feature that's completely unnecessary for 90% of the games that will be developed on the system and adding such a thing would further fracture the userbase resulting in rendering some subset of users unable to play games, all to placated a few whiners on the internet for a minute or two before they move onto the next thing to whine about.

Seriously, a second analog is only useful for camera control and dual analog aiming, the first of which is a gimmick in everything but stealth games. Otherwise you'll be keeping the camera behind you 99% of the time anyway, so just basic competence in game design takes care of the problem. Dual analog is a poor substitute for actual aiming controls, one that people have grown accustom to and mistake for actually working.

A second circle pad on the console wouldn't be comfortable anyway, trying to use triggers and the dPad where it is for any stretch of time is far more uncomfortable than stylus aiming and would be the only way such a redesign would work. I wish people would get over that already.

Because obviously they have infinite room in the casing to add new control guts and not effect things like heat distribution or battery size/life in the slightest to add a feature that's completely unnecessary for 90% of the games that will be developed on the system and adding such a thing would further fracture the userbase resulting in rendering some subset of users unable to play games, all to placated a few whiners on the internet for a minute or two before they move onto the next thing to whine about.

Seriously, a second analog is only useful for camera control and dual analog aiming, the first of which is a gimmick in everything but stealth games. Otherwise you'll be keeping the camera behind you 99% of the time anyway, so just basic competence in game design takes care of the problem. Dual analog is a poor substitute for actual aiming controls, one that people have grown accustom to and mistake for actually working.

A second circle pad on the console wouldn't be comfortable anyway, trying to use triggers and the dPad where it is for any stretch of time is far more uncomfortable than stylus aiming and would be the only way such a redesign would work. I wish people would get over that already.

All the consoles have 2 sticks, even the new Wii-U. By having 1 stick you're limiting games and probably developers. It was a cost-saving exercise to have only one.

Presumably they'll release a new cradle?

EDIT: I almost forgot, only American ones will come with an AC adapter